How do you judge when you’ve had a good workout? When you’re drenched in sweat leaving a puddle behind?
Some workouts I finish like this, a flushed face, a wet top much darker than I started with and hair that desperately needs a wash. Other times, I look no different to when I started, my hair totally dry, not a drop of sweat on my back.
Does this mean only some of those were good workouts? Were the workouts where I didn’t sweat worthless? I’m sure a lot of people have had similar questions so I thought I’d get to the bottom of it and share what you need to know.
The why…
Sweat is not fat crying, sorry. No, sweat is the body’s natural way to regulate the body’s temperature when it gets too hot. In other words, we sweat to help our body cool down. Sweat comes out of glands all over our skin, some places on the body have more glands and some people have more glands.
How much you sweat can vary person to person and is determined by lots of factors: age, gender, genes, temperature around you etc
Spoiler: Any workout you do is a good one! Not every workout will leave you sweating so please don’t be fooled into using it as an indicator for a good workout.
The why not…
The main reason would be that your body wasn’t overheating. Simple.
If you don’t sweat as much as you think you should there are a few other reasons to kept in mind:
- You simply may not have as many sweat glands as the person next to you in class who leaves a puddle behind them without fail
- You’re dehydrated. The body needs fluid to sweat. If you don’t drink enough water your body will find it much harder to regulate it’s core temperature and you may find you don’t sweat much.
- The outside temperature. If the gym you work out at is cool, you in turn are being kept cool, your body won’t overheat so much so you’ll sweat less. So what if it’s very hot and you still don’t sweat? Well if it’s vey hot your sweat may simply evaporate more quickly than it’s produced.
- Weight plays a part. Overweight people tend to sweat more. This is because they have more weight to support and to cool down. If you used to sweat more than you do now, there’s a good chance your fitness levels have increased and your body just finds it easier to regulate temperature now.
The real signs of a good workout:
- An increased heart rate and breathlessness – you shouldn’t really be able to have an easy conversation during the workout.
- Muscle fatigue – the last reps should feel very tough.
- You made progress! Maybe you got more reps in than usual or you lifted a heavier weight. It doesn’t have to be massive, adding 2.5kg is still progress. Appreciate the little wins.
- Feeling hungry straight after – that’s the body craving fuel.
Summing up
In the end whether you sweat or not doesn’t determine whether you had a good workout and if you’re working hard enough. Move your body, put the effort in, make progress and if you didn’t break a sweat during your last workout, don’t sweat it!
